How the tragedy forever changed a small town

GREENLAND — Marcia Schallehn never thought anything such as the tragic shooting that took Police Chief Michael Mahoney's life last year could happen in a small, quiet town like Greenland.

“You think you're safe in a small community, and this shows that's not necessarily the case,” she said.

Schallehn lives three doors down from the house on Post Road that was the scene of a drug raid turned tragic shootout on April 12, 2012.

The shooter, Cullen Mutrie, killed himself and his girlfriend, Brittany Tibbetts, after a standoff with police that lasted hours and resulted in Maloney's death and four wounded police officers.

Now, the house stands boarded up and condemned; a reminder of that tragic night.

“I walk by that house every day,” Schallehn said. “It's a sad reminder.”

Schallehn serves on the board for Seacoast Crime Stoppers, and having worked closely with Chief Maloney and police in that capacity, she said the events were personal to her.

She remembers sending an email to Chief Maloney asking him to write an article for the Crime Stoppers magazine.

Needing a distraction from the chaos of the standoff that was taking place right outside her window, she checked her email.

“It must have been right before he left on that call that he'd emailed me to say he'd have it to me next week,” she said.

“I think the effects were so widespread because Chief Maloney was so well-known,” she said. “He was well-liked and was a community person. I think it's really shaken the community.”

Residents and town officials have spent the past year trying to cope with the events and loss of Chief Maloney, but for many, what happened that day and the aftermath has made it difficult to absorb the enormity of the town's loss.

“It was quite a while before I was able to sit back and take in everything that had happened,” said Greenland Town Administrator Karen Anderson, who said she worked around the clock during and after the standoff to enact the town's emergency management plan.

Turning to that plan was something she never imagined she'd have to do.

“Initially, we relied on all of the emergency management training we do on a regular basis thinking we'd never really need it,” Anderson said.

That training was put in place in the event of a nuclear emergency due to the town's proximity to the Seabrook nuclear power plant.

Looking back on the events of that day one year ago, Anderson said she is still touched by the response from the town and emergency personnel.

“It really showed how strong we are as a town,” she said. “I was really moved by the coalition of police chiefs from the entire state and the amount of assistance they provided in the logistics of planning the funeral. There's such a visibly tight bond between the police officers.”

It's a bond that Jay McKenzie, of Suds N Soda on Portsmouth Avenue, said people can't understand until they work in that capacity for a small town.

McKenzie worked in law enforcement for 10 years, and met Chief Maloney when Maloney was a sergeant in North Hampton.

McKenzie remembers that Chief Maloney never wore a coat, even in the winter, and said jokingly, “He only wore pants because he had to.”

But overall, Chief Maloney was a guy McKenzie said he really looked up to.

“People don't realize on a daily basis what these town cops do,” McKenzie said. “For those people to go up to that door (on Post Road) — that takes a certain type of person to do that.”

And Chief Maloney, he said, was one of those types of people.

“The way I look at it is, a good leader leads from the front, and that's what he did.”

McKenzie, whose mother owns Suds N Soda, grew up in Greenland and said a tragedy like this one highlights what a tight-knit community it is.

The same was true for the Greenland school community.

“There was a real sense of solidarity,” said Superintendent George Cushing, remembering the students at Greenland Central School wore their Greenland shirts when they returned to school the Monday following the shooting.

Central School — also on Post Road — served as a command center the night of the shooting, and was also the site of a community gathering the following weekend.

“We're an incredibly close town,” Cushing said. “People were here at the school and stayed after the community gathering. And the students have done special projects throughout the year about the chief.”

And to honor Chief Maloney again one year later, there are several initiatives planned in town.

Greenland Central School is holding a community talent show at 6 p.m. tonight and Principal Peter Smith said proceeds will pay the way to Washington, D.C., for Greenland police to see Chief Maloney's name added to the National Law Enforcement Memorial.

Smith said everyone will be wearing special shirts and black blue ribbons made by volunteers that will be distributed in memory of Chief Maloney.

“We're trying to honor the anniversary,” Smith said. “It's a small community and the police have been very integral here in our school. We all attended the funeral and it touched all of us who have been here for many years. This is something we want to recognize in an appropriate way.”

Anderson came up with the idea of the black and blue ribbons as a way to remember and honor Chief Maloney by creating visibility around town.

McKenzie said he feels for Chief Maloney's family the most because for them, “it's been day in and day out.”

“You want this to end, but he deserves all those accolades,” he said, adding all anyone can do is keep moving forward.

“We took a hit here,” he said, “but we go on.”

The town will hold a moment of silence in front of the Greenland Police Station tonight at 5 p.m.

Anderson said the day will be a difficult one.

“The date itself, April 12, will always be in our minds,” Anderson said. “It will be a day we never forget.”